


Worth The Wait

by TheGirlInThePinkScarf



Category: National Football League RPF, Sports RPF
Genre: Alternate Universe, M/M, New England Patriots
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-11
Updated: 2016-12-11
Packaged: 2018-09-07 19:20:07
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,833
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8813050
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheGirlInThePinkScarf/pseuds/TheGirlInThePinkScarf
Summary: When Julian walks into the press room for Media Day with Tom and Rob, he’s not expecting to see the most beautiful man that he has ever laid eyes on.





	

**Author's Note:**

> This idea is one that I started last year and I was inspired by the super cute and embarrassing [ moment](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LlNpVFxQUtE) that Nigel Hayes had at a post-game press conference last year.
> 
> Other than the prompts on my blog, I haven’t written my boys together in a while so I wanted to get something finished!
> 
> I know that this isn’t my best work, but I hope that you enjoy it anyway! 
> 
> There are mentions of some past Danny/Sam Bradford.

* * *

  _If you want me, you've got to know me (Got to know me)_

_And if you want my love (my love)_

_You've gotta wait, my love_

_Hey baby, that's the way it's got to be, yeah_

_Get to know me (get to know me)_

_So we can do this_

_**The First Night- Monica** _

* * *

Tom Brady, Rob Gronkowski, and Julian Edelman have just entered the very spacious press room. They wave and they smile at the sea of reporters before they sit down at the table in front of the appropriate name tents. Tom takes a sip of water before he politely addresses everyone. Gronk tells a joke and Jules is too busy laughing at the joke to say anything to the reporters.

All three men get asked a question about how much that they’re enjoying Arizona. Rob talks about how it’s great to be back and how he’s reminiscing about his favorite college memories. Tom says the weather is nice and Julian agrees that he’s excited to not be buried in snow. Another reporter makes his way to the front of the room. Jules turns toward him and the first thing that he notices are the reporter’s warm and beautiful brown eyes. Julian can’t focus on the question that’s being asked because he can’t stop staring at the reporter’s pretty pink lips. Jules is in total awe of his beauty.

“God, he’s beautiful,” Julian whispers to Gronk who’s sitting to his right.

“Uh, Jules. You just said that _right_ into your microphone,” Rob tells him.

Julian blushes. “Wait, you guys heard that?”

The room erupts into light laughter and Jules can feel his neck turning as crimson as his face. He’s not normally one to get embarrassed, but he certainly feels sheepish now. Julian reluctantly turns toward the reporter to gauge his reaction. He finishes his question like a true professional, but Jules does notice that his cheeks and his ears look a little pink.

* * *

Julian is glad when his joint interview with Tom and Gronk is finally over. There are no more incidents or humiliating moments and for that Jules is truly grateful. He still can’t help but to think that the interview lasted for an eternity.  After saying goodbye to his teammates, Julian goes back to his hotel for some much needed downtime. He sighs after he flips through all of the channels twice. There’s really nothing on that Jules wants to watch. He turns the TV off and he buries his head into one of his pillows. Julian’s breathing evens out and he eventually drifts off to sleep. There’s a knock on his door about forty-five minutes later. Jules is dreaming about a certain pair of lovely chestnut colored eyes and he doesn’t want to wake up.

“Julian, open up!” Gronk yells obnoxiously.

“Go away!” Jules grunts out.

“I have a key, remember? So I can just barge in, you know. But I was trying to be nice by knocking first,” Rob lets him know.

Julian rolls onto his back and he sighs because he knows that Gronk isn’t going to leave him alone. He gets out of bed and he puts on his non-descript t-shirt right as Rob slides the key card in and opens the door to his room. Gronk has a large shit eating grin on his face and it makes Jules think that he’s up to something. Of course, it seems like Rob is _always_ up to something. Gronk sits down on one of the couches in the room and somehow his smirk turns even more mischievous.

“You owe me, Julian,” Rob tells him.

“For what?” Jules asks.

“For tracking down that reporter who you have a hard-on for,” Gronk answers.

Julian’s eyes grow wide. “Seriously?”

“Yeah, his name is Danny Amendola. And I know what bar that he’s going to be at tonight,” Rob says in a smug tone.

“What bar?” Jules wants to know.

“I could just tell you, but where’s the fun in that? What am I getting out the deal?” Gronk wonders.

“What do you want?” Julian carefully asks.

“Since you’re always so cheap, I want you to buy me a nice steak dinner!” Rob decides.

“Ok, fine. Now tell me which bar . . . ”

* * *

Julian feels like a creep as he looks at Danny’s various social media profiles. He’s not surprised when he finds out that Danny was a model while he was in college. Jules can’t seem to find anything specific about his sexuality or about his past relationships though. Julian is sure that he’ll get an answer soon. He stares at his reflection in the full-length mirror before spraying on his favorite cologne. Jules touches up his hair a little bit and then he finally declares that he’s ready.

The bar is swarming with tons of people and Julian is actually kind of glad that he can blend in with the crowd. It’s not that he doesn’t want to mingle with fans because that’s something that he actually enjoys, it’s just that he has _other_ things on his mind tonight. Speaking of those other things, Jules notices Danny once he gets closer to the bar and orders a drink. It’s just his luck because there’s an empty chair next to him. He doesn’t want to appear like a stalker, so he acts like it’s purely a coincidence that he sits down next to Danny.

“Let me guess, it’s totally by chance that you’re here, right?” Danny asks skeptically.

Julian smiles. “Ok, you caught me.”

“First you call me beautiful and now you’re stalking me. You move fast, Edelman,” Danny jokes.

“You must think that I’m a bit of a douche,” Jules replies.

“No. I just think that you’re the kind of person who goes after what you want. Although I’m hoping that what you want isn’t me in your bed tonight,” Danny responds.

Julian chokes on his beer. “That’s not what—I mean—I’m not. Shit!”

“I have an early morning, so I should get out of here,” Danny says as he pays his tab.

“Danny, wait—” Jules calls.

“I’ll probably see you tomorrow. Good night, Julian,” Danny states.

* * *

Jules tells Tom, Gronk, and some of his other teammates about his disastrous encounter with Danny the previous night. Even before he was a famous and success athlete, Julian was really smooth and had game. So he’s completely not used to putting his foot in his mouth around an attractive guy. Rob cringes and that’s a big deal considering some of the things that he has said out loud to girls. Tom just shakes his head in disbelief.

“You have to show him that you’re into him for more than just sex,” Tom advises.

“How do I do that?” Jules wonders.

“Well, you _are_ interested in him for more than that, right?” Gronk checks.

“Yes, of course. I want to get to know him and then kind of see where things go,” Julian answers.

“Apologize and then do something nice for him when you see him later,” Tom tells him.

Jules thanks them for their advice. He’s not really looking forward to another day of interviews, but Julian knows that it’s part of his job. All of the interviews are part of what comes to making it to the Super Bowl, so it’s really a small price to pay. He tries not to appear too eager when he lays eyes on Danny while he’s at the podium. Jules is by himself, so he can’t hide behind Tom and Gronk this time. He takes a sip of Gatorade and he lets out a deep breath when it’s Danny’s turn to ask him a question. They both turn red when the some of the other reporters start making kissing noises at them.

“Please don’t ask him out. Do that on your own time,” A guy from the New York Post says.

Danny looks like he’s going to say something in response, but he just walks off instead. Julian glances at his watch and he sees that he still has ten minutes of interview time left. He knows that he’s going to get into some trouble for leaving early. But Jules thinks that it’s more important to follow after Danny. He exits the stage and he makes his way through the large crowd. Julian calls after him and he’s not too surprised that Danny doesn’t look thrilled to see him. It’s quieter and they have more privacy once they go out into the hallway.

“I stopped being a model because I wanted people to appreciate me for more than my looks. I want to be taken seriously. And now people just see me as a joke again,” Danny yells.

“I don’t see you as a joke, Danny. I actually read some of your articles last night and I was very impressed. You’re extremely talented and really good at your job,” Jules praises.

Danny scoffs. “You’re just saying that because you want to get into my pants.”

“That’s not true, Danny! I was trying to tell you that last night but my words got all jumbled. You’re soft spoken and bold at the same time and it caught me off guard. I’m sorry that I came across as a bit of a jerk. That’s honestly not who I am,” Julian apologizes.

“I believe you, but it doesn’t matter. I don’t want to be involved with another football player again right now,” Danny replies.

“ _Again_?” Jules questions.

“It’s not something that I like getting into,” Danny responds.

“I just want to know if I have a chance in a fight with the guy that ruined my chance with you,” Julian explains.

“I’d say that you might have a chance against Sam Bradford considering how injury prone that he is,” Danny comments.

Jules raises an eyebrow. “Bradford, seriously?”

“I covered him when he was in St. Louis and his bisexuality was the worst kept secret. It seemed like a good idea at the time,” Danny says with a shrug.

“You should come out to dinner with me later. Not as a date, but just as friends getting to know each other,” Julian offers.

“Um . . . ok, sure. But _just_ as friends,” Danny points out.

* * *

Jules isn’t going to order anything alcoholic to drink because he wants to make sure that his mind is completely sharp. He definitely doesn’t want to make a fool of himself around Danny again. Julian is a little early because his nervous energy was annoying Tom and Gronk so much that they kicked him out of the hotel. He’s scanning the menu and taking a sip of water when he notices Danny walking toward his table. Jules almost chokes on his ice cube when he gets a good look at him. Danny’s wearing a backwards hat, a plain form-fitting black t-shirt, and a pair of dark skinny jeans. It’s a relatively simple outfit, but it makes Danny look like a million bucks.

“Hey,” Danny greets as he sits down across from Julian.

“Hey,” Jules repeats softly.

“Did you order already?” Danny wants to know.

“Just some water because I don’t want to get dehydrated. I’ve only been here for like five minutes,” Julian answers.

They quietly look over their menus and Jules surprisingly doesn’t mind the silence. Julian’s stomach rumbles when Danny orders a cheeseburger and fries. Jules has to settle for salmon, vegetables, and brown rice since it’s so close to game day. He tells Danny about the kind of burger that he would have ordered though if he were able to eat one. After getting Danny to laugh at his jokes, Julian starts to feel more comfortable and confident.

“I was thinking about what you said earlier about people acting like you’re a joke. I went through that after I came out. Some guy actually wrote an article saying that I wanted to be an athlete so that I can see naked guys in the locker room all the time. That comment was so absurd that I didn’t even let it bother me,” Jules says.

Danny sighs. “I know that I shouldn’t let it bother me.”

“Most reporters are assholes anyway, so fuck what they think about you,” Julian declares.

“Yeah, they’re not always the best group of people to deal with. Being around other models is actually sometimes more pleasant,” Danny half-jokes.

“I’m not saying that you should go back to modeling. But I saw some of your work and once again I was impressed with your talent,” Jules tells him.

Danny laughs. “My talent, of course. That’s what you were impressed with.”

Julian almost blurts out that Danny looking good enough to eat in his pictures (and in person of course) really _is_ a talent. Fortunately, their waiter arrives with their food so Jules’ comment never sees the light of day. While Danny’s eating his burger, he gets a mixture and mayonnaise and ketchup on the side of his mouth. Julian totally _isn’t_ thinking about how badly that he wants to use his tongue to wipe Danny’s face clean. He tries to distract himself from those kinds of thoughts by focusing on each bite of his food.

“I really want to order a slice of the salted caramel cheesecake for dessert, but I don’t want to tease you,” Danny remarks.

“You’ve been teasing me all night,” Jules mutters.

Danny laughs. “I heard that.”

“And I wasn’t even in front of a hot mic this time. You have really good hearing!” Julian points out.

“I’m a reporter, so it’s a really useful skill to have,” Danny answers.

“Order dessert. I can probably have a few bites since I had a healthy dinner,” Jules says.

Danny gets their waiter’s attention and he orders the decadent salted caramel cheesecake. It arrives pretty quickly much to both of their delights. Julian quickly asks for the check while Danny is distracted taking a picture of the dessert. Danny blushes when he notices that their waiter only gave them one fork. He shrugs it off as he offers Jules the first piece. They’re sitting at a relatively small table, so Julian doesn’t have to lean across very far. Danny slowly guides the fork into Jules’ waiting mouth. He moans at the heavenly taste of the cheesecake.

“Fuck, that’s good!” Julian exclaims.

Danny makes a pleased sound as well as he tastes the dessert. He and Julian alternate taking bites until there’s nothing left. Their waiter comes back with the check and Danny reaches into his pocket. Jules waves him off because he wants to pay. He explains that since he’s the one that invited Danny to dinner that he’s the one that should pick up the tab. Danny doesn’t try to argue because he can tell that Julian is extremely stubborn.

“I’m glad that it’s a nice night out since I walked here,” Danny comments.

“You walked?” Jules asks.

“Yeah. My hotel isn’t that far away so it wasn’t a super long walk or anything,” Danny explains.

“It’s late, so you should let me give you a ride,” Julian suggests.

“You don’t have to,” Danny lets him know.

“I’d feel really bad if something were to happen to you. So for my sake, can I drive you back to your hotel?” Jules begs.

“Ok,” Danny concedes.

* * *

“Thanks for the lift,” Danny expresses gratitude.

“No problem. I really just wanted to make sure that you got here safely,” Julian states.

“You want to come up and watch some TV or something?” Danny invites.

Jules nervously bites his lip. “I really want to, but I shouldn’t. I’d be too tempted to make a move on you.”

“I like you, Julian. But I know that I’m not truly ready for anything right now. So, I don’t exactly know where that leaves us,” Danny admits.

“I really like you, too. So, I’ll wait until you’re ready,” Jules tells him.

“And you’re ok with long distance? Because St. Louis is like over 1,000 miles away from Foxboro,” Danny points out.

Julian nods. “We’ll find a way to make it work. You’re the first guy in a really long time that I’ve been interested in, so I really want to give us a chance.”

“We’ll start off slowly and see where things go,” Danny agrees.

“Can I expect to see you after the game so that we can celebrate together?” Jules wants to know.

“Of course. Or I’ll be your shoulder to cry on just in case you lose,” Danny lets him know.

Julian looks offended. “That’s not happening!”

It’s starting to get late, so they unfortunately have to go their separate ways. Jules knows that he’s going to be too nervous to sleep like he has been his entire time in Arizona. He asks Danny if he can call him later if his insomnia strikes. Danny says yes because he’s kind of a night owl himself. Before he gets out of Julian’s car, he gives him a sweet goodbye kiss on the cheek.

“Good night,” Danny comments.

“Good night,” Jules repeats.

**Author's Note:**

> This wasn’t exactly where I wanted to end this, but I’m thinking about writing a sequel that follows their relationship!
> 
> Once again, I hoped that you all enjoyed this!


End file.
